Today I turned a quarter of a century old. Finally, I have reached an age which sounds somewhat adult-ish, somewhat credible when you are meeting with professionals in Omaha who have been doing what they’re doing since you were learning to speak.

I had such a fun day with Tyler yesterday, well, this whole weekend. Let me break it down for you what its like to be in the Cooper fam, one of the “Coops.”

Friday - Charlestons (woo!) & 3:10 to Yuma

Saturday - Camille’s, walking around downtown looking at art, sneaking around the DoubleTree Hotel, driving up through the hills near the Lewis & Clark “Council Bluff,” party with the family.

Sunday - picking up African refugees in the morning, helping take care of 10+ kids belonging to various Coram Deo-goers, getting the Refugees & 60 sandwiches and drinks organized at the Zoo and then spending the afternoon walking around looking at the animals (baby tigers), watching a scary movie until I am really creeped out, going to a Theology class/discussion, watching another movie until passing out in bed.

Monday - driving up through cute and also creepy small towns in northern Nebraska and Iowa, eating at a strange cafe with mismatching table cloths and a VHS rental shelf of taped-over movies & family vacations, walking around on reconstructed Lewis & Clark boats out on a lake, walking through a 3 story boat made into a museum in Sioux City, driving up through Yankton and back home through the beautiful hills.

Tuesday - back to work, bagels in the morning, lunch at Zio’s, cake tonight at our Bible study thingamajigger.

Woo! Its been fun. What a great year 24 was, so exciting, so full of change and blessings, a new best friend, a new life with my new best friend, a new job, a new home literally and also in my heart with my community and a growing, fuller one with my family of Collicotts. It was a wonderful year, full of newness and change.

This year should be an adventure. I’m hoping for a year of growth and learning. I hope its full of growth in maturity, growth in wisdom, and learning how to love Jesus and therefore others in a new level of authenticity and trueness. I’m also hoping for fun and excitement, and lots of time with loved ones, most of all my wonderful husband, Tyler, who is the best gift I can imagine (there Jill, that answers one of your bday questions).

60 minutes did a piece on Joel Osteen.

Check it out and give me some of your thoughts.

I don’t have many, but here’s what I do have:

Ivy & Will Wedding

I must say, it is surprisingly difficult to blog when I don’t have internet at home.

Having said that, I’m so excited for Ivy and Will, whose wedding was last Saturday, September 29th! It was a beautiful day, a day of watching a woman who about a year ago said, “I hate men and I’m never getting married,” let her heart be healed from deep pain, allow herself to be vulnerable with a man she trusted and to let him love her in order to bring out her gentleness and softness once again.

And its wonderful to see a man who chased a girl for months finally watch her walk down the aisle to him on their wedding day.

(Ivy & Will the firefighter) (Ivy & Will at our wedding)

I didn’t take many pictures, but I hope to have them up soon.

I do, however, have a few pictures from the Tuesday night Bible Study, called the Vine, we do here at Mosaic Community Development. We have people from all walks of life come and share life together, building community and talking about the glory of God and how Jesus is truly our only hope and love. We have people from Coram Deo (my church), Creighton University, Grace University, and from the Siena Francis House, a place of shelter for those that are homeless, or recovering from addiction.

One great story from the Vine is that we had two folks from the Francis House come and join us, and we watched one of them fight his way out of addiction and into discipleship and a relationship with a woman also coming out of addiction. They recently got married, and although things aren’t perfect, its another amazing story of God working to redeem lives.